Sotto: Senate presidency seat not a parking slot

Senator Vicente Sotto III frowned upon the action of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano deeming the Senate presidency seat as his “parking lot” before receiving an expected cabinet seat in the Duterte administration, awaiting the expiration of the one-year appointing ban on election losers.

Because of this, majority members of the Senate have given up their support for Senator Cayetano. Senator Sotto said that at least eighteen (18) senators supported a unifying leadership.

(That is a good reason but if you take a look at it from another perspective, I heard some of our peers say that it is not appropriate for one to make the Senate presidency a mere parking slot for one year]

Sotto, however, acknowledged that everything still depends on what the majority thinks. Soon enough, there will be sure signs showing who will be the next Senate leader.

(That will become clear in due course. Anyone who shows support in black and white, there will be a big possibility. But we cannot know it until July 25, when they actually vote.)

Sotto said that the incoming Duterte administration can anticipate their participation as they provide ‘consensus leadership’.

“Based on my experience as majority and minority leader, what my colleagues abhor the most is making unilateral decisions. That’s why that is what I would promote – consensus leadership. We should always arrive at a majority decision,” Sotto said.

Earlier, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said that he is confident in winning the senate presidency seat.

“(I am) confident but not overconfident,” Cayetano told the media when he was asked about the possibility of him becoming the next senate president, replacing incumbent Senate President Franklin Drilon.

According to Cayetano, there are already fifteen (15) senators who committed to give their support for his race.